With Christmas less than a week away now, the latest rent figures released show a drop in the average rent across England and Wales for the first time since January 2012. In November the average monthly rent was £720, but in December, this fell to £717 per month. However, since inflation also dropped slightly, we probably shouldn’t complain too much.
Why have rents fallen in December?
One of the reasons why the average rent might have fallen this month is because many landlords are less aggressive with rental pricing in the run up to Christmas—nobody wants empty properties over the festive holiday and into the New Year, least of all me.
Interestingly though, some areas have bucked the trend and landlords in Yorkshire and Humber have been lucky enough to enjoy an increase in their property rents during December. Overall, however, rent prices continue to rise and London and the South East remains the fastest growing rental market in the UK—rents increased by 4.2% this year.
Are rents likely to continue rising in 2012?
If you are new to the buy to let market, you are probably hoping that your investment will continue to provide a good income for 2012 and beyond, and the goods news is that experts believe the continuing demand for rental properties will continue to push the average rent up throughout 2012. So if you are still on the fence about whether you should invest in a rental property, things are looking good for 2012 and the rental sector remains strong.
